Almuñécar has decreed that starting the 1st of September, all beach showers will become inoperative as a savings measure during this drought.
The move is also meant as a gesture of solidarity towards the farming community, the Mayor, Juan José Ruiz Joya, feels.
As mentioned in a previous article on this site, he has also called upon the Junta de Andalucía and the Central Government to extend economic aid to the sub-tropical fruit industry in Río Verde, Río Seco and Río Jate.
Normally, the showers are shut down after the summer crowds have left, coinciding with the return of children to their schools after the summer holidays.
This year, as was the case last year, it coincides with the withdrawal of lifeguards from the municipalities beaches.
Editorial comment: is turning off the beach showers more of a gesture than something practical? After all, if beachgoers can’t shower on the beaches, they will do it as soon as they get home, meaning that the water will be used either way.
(News/Noticias: Almunecar, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)
Dylan. Once the water has gone. The fields of fruit will become fields of solar panels with subsidies. Happened a few years ago. Yes, Spanish people took out massive loans, on the promise of tax-free incentive, which the next government then cancelled and bankrupt many of the get-rich-quick mob. But also funds came in from all over the world. Millions now being paid back to investors!
So the fruits will go. The water too. The hotel industry will dry up. As the tourists find cheaper places. This summer alone has seen a massive increase in hotel and restaurant prices. Doom and gloom.
The subtropical fruit industry is a total blight – their demise will be self inflicted and should be accelerated. These fruits are not endemic and can only be cultivated with that intensity with massive use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers.
The south coast is a paradise being turned into a poisoned desert by the hotels and the fruit industry. Drive up the Rio Seco for a taste- it is not much different to any banana republic.
Some homeless people need the showers to keep clean.
Hard to argue against that especially as water usage is not metered…. still see some local folk washing their frontages despite the ban ????
Summer season almost finished. Should have done it back in June. A pointless political gesture. Mind you you do need to wash the clean sea water off asap !!